Reserved. I'll be back to post either during pre-season or right after it. I did remarkably well last year in this (considering the overall difficulty), so here's hoping I can do well again.
09/30/18:
(Edited 10/01/18 for Gagner waiving)
Here we go:
Comments on my predictions:
Forwards
B. Boeser – Starts off slow, but does pick it up by mid-season. Still ends the year with a notably lower points-per-game than last year, but does pass the 30-goal mark.
B. Horvat – Becomes what most consider to be the best player on the team. Despite Boeser scoring more goals and points, Horvat’s complete game and leadership lead most fans to think of him as the team’s best player. Leads the team in scoring (both goals and points) until Boeser catches up in February.
E. Pettersson – Does not disappoint in his rookie season. Becomes a key part of the powerplay and the primary setup man. Finishes 3rd in Calder voting. Leads the team in assists.
S. Baertschi – Is grateful to still remain on the first line and continues to mesh well with Horvat and Boeser. Also works well with Pettersson on the 1st PP unit. Very slightly increased offensive production compared to last year. Misses a few games due to injury.
N. Goldobin – Has a somewhat breakout year. Still plays a streaky game, but shows far more consistency than years past. Also proves to be a much harder worker now.
B. Sutter – His game suffers a bit with Beagle taking some of his role away. He shows some dissatisfaction throughout the season and frustration with his role. Still has a decent season, but not quite like his previous two years.
L. Eriksson – Has a slightly worse year than last year, but still better than 2016-17. Still much maligned by fans.
S. Gagner – Gets periodic call-ups and is okay, but doesn't play well enough to merit him staying in the lineup.
B. Leipsic – Settles nicely into a bottom six role and provides a much-needed spark.
J. Virtanen – Somewhat disappoints by not becoming the point scorer some hope. His abrasive style gets him a suspension at some point in the season and he also suffers from some injuries. His point production (per game) is still a bit up from last year. Will take tons of dumb penalties and end up with 150 PIM.
J. Beagle – Performs as expected. Misses 11 games from minor injuries. Fans love his defense and hard work; he's basically Ryan Johnson 2.0.
A. Roussel – Can’t provide the offense he used to, but still provides the grit.
T. Schaller – His 12-goal season looks like a flash in the pan, as he struggles to be noticeable on the team. He’s a healthy scratch fairly often.
D. Archibald – Gets called up due to injuries. Has good flashes, but then disappears.
B. Gaunce – Called up due to injuries and shows more offensive flair than before, but is sent down again due to competition.
M. Granlund – A similar Granlund to last year, but settles more into a defensive role.
Defensemen
A. Edler – Regresses a bit again, but not to the lows of his worst days. Still remains one of our best defensemen.
T. Stecher – Has a big bounce back year and wins the Babe Pratt trophy because fans like to ride the hype train of young players.
M. Del Zotto – Starts to become a healthy scratch as he works his way into Green’s doghouse. Produces on offense, but has horrid defense.
C. Tanev – Is our best defenseman, but only plays 48 games due to his annual injury woes. Leads the team in +/- with +6.
B. Hutton – Has a big bounce back year, but still doesn’t perform super well. A step in the right direction though.
D. Pouliot – Trades healthy scratches with Del Zotto (and sometimes Hutton). Can’t provide consistent play all year long. Has flashes of offensive brilliance, but then they fade away again.
E. Gudbranson – Continues to be polarizing. Still can’t put up points to save his life, but provides a much-needed physical presence.
A. Biega – Used for injury call ups. Same old Biega.
Goaltenders
J. Markstrom – Is about the same as last year. A little more clutch in tight situations though.
A. Nilsson – Just as bad, if not worse than last year. Somehow has 6 OT/SO losses in only 26 games played. Cannot be relied on in clutch situations at all.
T. Demko – Plays in three games near the end of the year and shows promise. Nilsson leaves via free agency in the summer and Demko is the planned replacement. Demko is also the AHL’s top goaltender.
Other Comments
The Killer Bs line and Pettersson are about the only exciting things about the Canucks this year as they cruise to a worse record than last year. They finish very similarly to last year with slightly worse goals for and goals against numbers.
End up finishing 29th in the league and “winning” the 5th overall pick. Fans complain about it because they don't understand lottery odds.
The team is plagued by injuries as only Brandon Sutter plays all 82 games and only three players play 80 or more games.
Utica makes the playoffs but is eliminated in the 2nd round.
Canucks special teams are solid, but 5-on-5 is brutally bad. Powerplay finishes 12th in the league and Penalty Kill finishes 15th.
Gaudette, Palmu, Dahlen, and Juolevi are left in the AHL despite fans clamouring for them to get an NHL shot.
The Canucks go with three alternates for the year in Horvat, Edler, and Sutter. They’ll name Horvat the captain at the start of 2019-20.
TSN has articles all year about how badly the Canucks are rebuilding. The Leafs are knocked out in the 2nd round of the playoffs.
Green starts to become disliked by fans, just like what happens to every coach in history.